Abbreviations for home and plot area

In this article you can get a quick overview of the most common abbreviations you often come across as a developer

There are quite a few abbreviations, and some people get a bit lost. Here is a quick overview of some of the most common ones:

BTA - Gross area

BTA is the total area of the house, including external walls. In the case of a multi-unit dwelling, half of the wall shared with the neighbour is included in the gross area.

BRA - Usable area

BRA is the usable area minus the external walls - in other words, the entire internal area of the home. Internal walls are included in BRA. For a room to count as usable area, the ceiling height must be over 1.9 metres.

BYA - Built-up area

BYA tells you how much of the plot is taken up by the house, parking (parking spaces, carport and garage) and terrace. If the terrace is lower than half a metre below ground level, it is not included in BYA. BYA is particularly important when applying to the municipality for a building permit. This is because there are rules on how much of the plot you are allowed to build on, which depend on where in the country and in which area the plot is located.

MUA - Minimum outdoor space

For homes, schools, nurseries and other buildings where, in the municipality's judgement, it is necessary to set aside a minimum outdoor space, the planning provisions should specify the minimum outdoor space including play areas. MUA is given in m2 as whole numbers per unit/home/pupil/nursery child etc. and written as m2 MUA. Outdoor space means the parts of the plot that are suitable for the purpose and that are not built on or set aside for driving and parking.

P-rom Primary rooms

P-rom are all rooms that can be counted as habitable rooms. That means everything from the living room, bedrooms, kitchen and study to the bathroom, toilet and utility room. Hallways and stairs between these rooms also count as P-rom. When statistics on house prices are compiled, this is the area used as the basis.

S-rom Secondary rooms

S-rom are all rooms that are not habitable rooms, i.e. P-rom. This includes storage rooms, walk-in wardrobes, plant rooms, refuse rooms, garages etc.

Exceptions

Some types of room are not as easy to classify. A glazed-in balcony counts as both S-rom and BRA. If a room has a sloping ceiling, the measurable area extends up to 0.6 metres beyond a height of 1.90 metres measured against the sloping ceiling. If the ceiling height is lower than this, it will not be included in the measurement. Loft flats and houses with lofts therefore often have a lot of extra space that can be used for sleeping areas, storage or other purposes.